TORONTO (IPS/GIN ) - When it comes to responding to HIV and AIDS, Muslims are neither better nor worse than anyone else, but in its progressive form, Islam is better prepared to respond than the Vatican, says Farid Esack.

In the following interview, this South African Muslim professor and, as he defines himself, anti-AIDS militant, talks about mutual stereotypes, why religions fear sex and the sacred nature of entering into the life of an HIV-positive person.

"AIDS is not just simply a disease, but a fundamental problem of injustice," says Mr. Esack, interviewed during a break at the hectic International AIDS Conference 2006 held in Toronto Aug. 13-18. "If that were not so, why is it that those affected are mostly Africans, Blacks, women and poor people?"

And the fact that injustice shapes the pandemic is clear, too, in how different people, after becoming infected with the virus, are able to access treatment or not. "If you are American and White," he says, "everything is available to you."

Mr. Esack talks fast, and the look in his eyes is intense. The author of several books about Islam, he is also a professor at Harvard University and the director of Positive Muslims, a South African organization that supports people who live with HIV and AIDS. He labels himself as an academic and activist who, as a Muslim, has always tried to link his faith with the cause of justice.

Farid Esack (FE): There are different factors that might be contributing to this. Male circumcision, which appears to thwart the transmission of the virus, is the most immediate one. Moreover, considered as a whole, Muslim communities have more social cohesion. Probably, the ban on alcohol contributes in this sense too, by avoiding the consequences of the loss of inhibition it provokes. Some Muslims will say that it is Islam as a religion that is the cause of this, or that Muslim sexual morality is better. But there is no scientific proof that the sexual conduct of Muslims—for example with respect to extramarital sex—is different from that of followers of other religions.

FE: In the last two years, since the AIDS conference in Bangkok, there has been some progress, some increase in support to those affected. There are positive examples in countries such as Morocco, Egypt and Malaysia. Nevertheless, it still is a matter of "them," the sick, versus us, the "normal society." In the Muslim world, the predominating attitude is still pity, with some being able to move to compassion. The person that lives with HIV can be forgiven, but they are still seen as having failed, and HIV or AIDS is the price they pay for it.

FE: As Muslims, we are prepared to make the transition from pity to compassion, but we are not ready to empower those affected. We can only make them objects of our compassion, but we are not willing to associate ourselves in the transformation of their lives, and thus, open ourselves to the transformation of our religious communities. The greatest obstacle is that we have privileged our structures, our power, over human life. And I say this knowing fully that it is expected from Muslims, when we are invited to speak at places like this conference, to say nice and pleasant things about our religion and our community.

IPS: You have written much about the Qur'an; what resources does it offer to the Muslim community to help it respond to the HIV and AIDS pandemic?

FE: The Qur'an offers different, mixed streams. The most relevant is one that is often ignored, the passion for justice. If I had to synthesize Christianity in one word, I would say that word is love. For Islam, the word would be justice. The Qur'an exhorts to justice all the time. This obsession for justice is the greatest resource it can offer, because it is about creating a world where pandemics like this simply do not happen. Of course, whoever looks for resources in the Qur'an will also find other streams, like the impulse of compassion and generosity; and, of course, the idea of a vengeful God who punishes. Different people will choose to focus on different aspects.

FE: The only way is to engage with persons who live with HIV. To enter into the life of an HIV-positive person is to walk into a sacred space. It is about sitting and listening and, in so doing, allowing ourselves to be transformed. It is not easy, since one does not know what may happen, and it requires us to come out of our theological boxes. Also, it implies looking more closely at things that usually frighten us, such as sexuality.

IPS: Is the HIV and AIDS pandemic, which has a greater impact in non-Muslim countries, reinforcing the stereotypes within the Muslim community towards the Christian West?

FE: There is a classic Muslim stereotype that sees the West as morally decadent, sexually promiscuous, etc. Since AIDS was initially considered a disease of homosexuals, that evidently reinforced the stereotype. Today, the pandemic is largely affecting Africa and increasingly Asia, but many Muslims still view it as a Western issue. By the same token, the corresponding Western stereotype sees Muslims as uptight, dishonest, afraid of sex.

FE: To be honest, I do not know; can one answer I do not know in an interview? (Laughter.) It must have something to do with the obsession for power. In religious communities, we are sometimes obsessed with controlling the lives of others.

FE: It is curious how stereotypes change in the course of history. In colonial times, Muslims were accused of being too loose with sex, even promiscuous—the widespread image was the harem. The Muslim world was associated with images of a non-stop orgasm. Now, the stereotype is completely the opposite. The reality is that in Islam, unlike much of Christianity, which has identified sex with its reproductive function, sex itself has always been celebrated and seen as something natural, enjoyable. And I am talking about religious literature. The attitude has always been positive. It was in the epoch of colonial domination that we became more Victorian. But I do not want to blame the West for everything...

FE: As a whole, its position is neither better nor worse than that of any other religions. It depends what version of Islam we are talking about. Progressive Islam is surely better positioned than the Vatican, but not better than other progressive expressions of Catholicism itself.

No religious group can say we have the answer. Only a prophetic religion can adequately respond to this pandemic—a religion that is not first of all concerned about its own structures of power and survival, but about the imperative to live with justice. The founders of religions were not concerned about how to ensure the survival of the religious community, but rather how to identify with the poor and how to disturb the power when it does not serve justice.

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